Israel ready to cut power to 'hostile' Gaza
Pastor Dale Morgan
Israel ready to cut power to 'hostile' Gaza*
By Tim Butcher
Last Updated: 2:07am BST 20/09/2007
Israel paved the way for cutting electricity, fuel and other supplies to
the Gaza Strip yesterday when it formally declared the region "hostile
territory".
The announcement was seen as a political gesture by Ehud Olmert, the
Israeli prime minister. He is under pressure to act robustly against the
frequent rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel.
But human rights groups accused Israel of threatening collective
punishment against Gaza's 1.4 million Palestinian inhabitants.
Last June, Israel bombed Gaza's only power station, plunging much of the
area into darkness and leaving Palestinians to endure the summer heat
without air conditioning or refrigerators.
Afterwards, Israel denied that this amounted to collective punishment
because a "state of conflict" existed with the Palestinian people.
The latest declaration means that Israel reserves the right to sever
fuel and power supplies to Gaza - although no date for the onset of any
such blockade has been announced.
The decision by Israel's security cabinet created a rare moment of unity
between Hamas, the militant Islamist group controlling Gaza, and its
secular rival, Fatah. Both condemned the move.
"This oppressive decision will only strengthen the choking embargo,"
said a statement from Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president. Fatah
officials said they would ask America to intervene and persuade Israel
to reverse the decision.
But on a visit to Jerusalem yesterday, Condoleezza Rice, the American
secretary of state, showed no sign of being ready to consider any such
request. Instead, she publicly endorsed Israel's description of Hamas as
hostile. "Hamas is indeed a hostile entity. It is a hostile entity to
the US as well," she said.
She added that America would not "abandon the innocent Palestinians in
Gaza". Her visit was intended to prepare for a Middle East peace
conference which America plans to hold in November.
• Pope Benedict XVI refused to see Condoleezza Rice when she requested a
meeting in Rome, an Italian newspaper reported yesterday.
Miss Rice had requested an appointment last month, but was told that the
Pope was on holiday.
The Vatican has frequently criticised America's policies in the Middle
East.